The present invention relates to a semiconductor module having at least one power semiconductor component.
Power semiconductors are normally formed in modules on circuit carriers with ceramic insulation (DCB substrates, AMB substrates, or the like). Connection elements which allow current connections to the area surrounding the semiconductor module are connected within the module to the circuit carriers or directly to the power semiconductors. These current connection elements are, for example, screwed externally to the module and have to withstand mechanical forces and torques which occur in the process, as well as during operation. For this purpose, they are mounted in housing segments. The mechanical forces also result from temperature changes and different expansion of different components of the semiconductor module, or of the power-electronic circuit. In order to avoid damaging the circuit carriers and the semiconductors in the semiconductor module, the internal contacts of these current connection elements must be relieved of the forces.
Nowadays, current connection elements such as these having expansion compensation bends of different forms are used for this purpose (see for example DE 196 01 372 A1; EP 0 706 221 A2). The disadvantage of expansion compensation bends such as these is that they lengthen the current connection element and in some cases also reduce its conductor cross section. A compromise must therefore be reached between the current carrying capability and the life of a current connection element such as this. The current carrying capability of current connection elements such as these is critically dependent on their length, because elements such as these are cooled only at the ends in the semiconductor module, and are surrounded by encapsulation compound, which provides thermally relatively good insulation, on the path to the outside of the semiconductor module. Furthermore, the expansion compensation bends increase the stray inductances in the semiconductor modules.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for the present invention.